House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she would work with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to pass a smaller coronavirus relief package.
Pelosi stressed she is agreeing on a smaller amount “because we have a new president,” reports said.
When asked by a reporter what shifted her opinion, Pelosi replied:
“Perhaps you missed what I said earlier. Joe Biden committed to ending and crushing the virus and had a build better America initiative, build back better. A vaccine, answer to our prayers. An answer to our prayers of 95% effectiveness in terms of Pfizer and Moderna and there maybe others coming forward. That is a total game changer, a new president and a vaccine.”
Pelosi emphasized, “This has simplicity. It’s what we’ve had in our bills. It’s for a shorter period of time, but that’s okay now, because we have a new president. A president who recognizes that we need to depend on science to stop the virus. A president who understands that America’s working families need to have money in their pockets in a way that takes them into the future, without any of the contraptions of any of the other bills that the administration was associating itself with [inaudible] before.”
The new bill does not include a stimulus check, “allocates about $300 billion in funding for small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, $240 billion in aid for state and local governments, $180 billion to extend boosted unemployment benefits at $300 per week through March and a temporary moratorium on COVID liability lawsuits to allow states enough time to design their own laws.”